Laser-induced fluorescence was used for direct in-vivo diagnosis of colon malignancy without requiring biopsy. The methodology was applied in a clinical study in order to differentiate adenomatous polyps from hyperplastic polyps in the colon. The measurements were performed in vivo during routine colonoscopy. Detection of the fluorescence signal from the tissue was performed using laser excitation. This report describes the differential normalized fluorescence (DNF) procedure using the amplified spectral differences between the normalized fluorescence of polyps and normal tissue. Data related to various grades of pathology of colonic tissues are discussed. In this preliminary study, the DNF procedure provides a general trend which corresponds to severity of dysplasia associated with colon malignancy.

Date Published: 5 April 1996
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 2679, Advances in Laser and Light Spectroscopy to Diagnose Cancer and Other Diseases III: Optical Biopsy, (5 April 1996); doi: 10.1117/12.237592

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2679:
Advances in Laser and Light Spectroscopy to Diagnose Cancer and Other Diseases III: Optical Biopsy
Robert R. Alfano; Abraham Katzir, Editor(s)